COURSE REVIEW

Torrey Pines Golf Course still a San Diego round worth remembering

By Chris Baldwin,
Senior Writer

Some say it's overrated, but you still want to play TV star Torrey Pines Golf Course. From dramatic ocean views to monster trees and scrounging squirrels, this famed San Diego-area muni will leave you with plenty of memories.

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The squirrels attack Daren Bowles' golf bag almost on cue. They scrounge around, get in a few pockets. And for probably the first time all day on Torrey Pines Golf Course, Bowles feels like a pro.

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After all, Torrey Pines' infamously fearless squirrels always go for Tiger Woods' bag too.

"The squirrels burrowing in your bag definitely adds to the atmosphere," Bowles said, laughing. "I don't know what they were looking for in my bag. I had nothing."

Now he has some Torrey Pines memories.

This municipal jewel on the seaside cliffs near San Diego is known for many things: dramatic ocean views, PGA Tour events, busting muni stereotypes. With the U.S. Open coming next year, even its tee-time policy has gained national attention.

Still, many golfers who actually play Torrey Pines bring up the squirrels first.

If, like Bowles, you play the North course, the animals show real theatrical flair. They don't just pop out on any old hole. They come out on Nos. 5, 6 and 7 - the holes on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific, where golfers are most likely to be distracted.

On No. 6, a par 3 that runs toward the ocean, a mountain lion could pounce on your golf bag and you might not notice.

It's easy to get lost in Torrey Pines. There are going to be things that surprise you though. Forget the bright green you see on TV when the PGA players are here. Torrey Pines isn't in bad shape, but the conditions are more muni than resort course. There are patches of light brown in the fairways, and your lies aren't going to be perfect.

Indeed, one of Torrey Pines' little secrets is that in the slow build-up to the 2008 Open, the North course is often in better shape than the South, site of the upcoming major. The South is a course in transition, getting a USGA makeover.

It makes no difference to a lot of average golfers; many enjoy the North more anyway.

"If you're a low-90s-to-mid-80s player, the South will eat you up," said local Hal Hartley, who plays here weekly. "I think the North course is actually more enjoyable for most of us average golfers."

Take the respective first holes. South's climbs up a hill and takes a sharp dogleg turn. North's also goes up - you can't see the green from the tee - but it's as straight as a Mormon.

You'll get your golf postcard whichever course you play, though. The par-3s on both unleash a torrent of shutter-clicking.

"I hear the North is a great course too," David Gunas Jr., that barefoot-golf-playing pseudo celebrity from Big Break II, said right before teeing on No. 1. "I'm pumped to play it." Some golfers get so pumped at the prospect of playing Torrey Pines that they end up leaving disappointed. This is one of those golf experiences that come freighted with expectations. Most golfers arrive with a mental picture of how their Torrey Pines round should play out.

"It didn't live up to what I thought it would be," Phoenix golfer Jordan Ross said. "Some of the views are even pretty ordinary.

"I guess it looks a lot more impressive if you're flying over it in a TV helicopter."

Torrey Pines isn't as showy as many modern courses. In terms of over-the-top visual thrills it's nowhere near Trump National LA or Myrtle Beach's Barefoot Resort Fazio.

Rather, Torrey Pines impresses with creative design, the little curves and rises in the fairway that effect your shots.

And the trees - hulking monsters (called Torrey pines but looking more like big cypress to the untrained eye) that loom over the fairways, constantly forcing you to shoot under or cut around them. On the doglegs, a bark shot is en ever-present possibility.

This is a club that requires some old-school golf patience - fitting in a place where you step up to a vintage glass starter's booth and get called to the tee box by a scratchy loudspeaker. All the titanium bomb drivers in the world won't guarantee you a good score here.

Torrey Pines Golf Course: The verdict

Torrey Pines is one of those courses you want to be able to say you played. There are those who say it's overrated - that it wouldn't have nearly the same cache if it didn't get so much TV time. There's probably some truth to that. But you still want to play it.

Torrey Pines Golf Course 11480 N. Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, CA Tee times: 866-351-1688 or 760-469-4405 Click here for a free San Diego golf package quote.

"I don't think you'll ever regret playing Torrey Pines," Chicago golfer Blaine Edwards said.

Unless you get suckered. Don't get taken in by those $500-plus-a-night stay-and-play packages at the nearby hotels, thinking you need to lock up a tee time. The Lodge at Torrey Pines, right off the clubhouse, is particularly proficient at building mystique for these "deals."

Truth is, you can walk on Torrey Pines most days and play for around $140. And you can find a great hotel for far less than $400 per night in San Diego.

Those squirrels don't charge extra.

"I didn't lose a single ball," Chicago golfer Don McLean said proudly.

He lost a sandwich though. Torrey's squirrels win again.

May 16, 2007

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.